TYMRHBDES Chapter 123

Chapter 123: The Cold, Crazy School Prince x The Spoiled, Delicate Little Brat 31

“Young Master Jiang truly has a short memory…”

The woman’s face flushed with embarrassment, her eyes gleaming greedily. “I didn’t want to bother you, but you’ve been so busy, I figured you must have forgotten… You still haven’t transferred the money from last month…”

Jiang Luoluo was utterly bewildered, his long eyelashes fluttering twice. “What money?”

“You forgot!”

The woman’s voice rose in agitation, but she quickly reined herself in, afraid of angering Jiang Luoluo.

“Young Master Jiang, when you came to our house looking for Jia Nian, you promised to take care of us, Jia Nian’s parents!”

“How can you go back on your word!”

“It’s only been a little over three years, and you’ve already stopped sending us money! You haven’t even transferred last month’s payment yet!”

“We know you’re busy; you must have simply forgotten. It’s not like you’re deliberately refusing to pay.”

“After all, you’re so wealthy, a few small sums like this wouldn’t even matter to you.”

“This is just the cost of a meal for you, but it’s life-saving money for us! My family is barely scraping by!”

The woman brazenly continued, “Since we happened to run into you today, why don’t you just transfer the money directly? That way, we can settle this month’s payment too, and it’ll save you the trouble of making another transfer.”

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and opened her payment app.

She kept rambling on:

“Our Niannian has always had bad luck and no blessings. How wonderful it would have been if he could have been with Young Master Jiang! Look at you now, you already have a new boyfriend… By the way, you’re not going to refuse to give us the money because of this, are you?”

As she spoke, the woman finally looked up at the tall man standing beside Jiang Luoluo.

Under the lamplight, he wore a black shirt that clearly looked expensive at a glance. His watch gleamed, and his aristocratic aura was cold and aloof.

His attire screamed “wealthy elite.”

If she sold that watch, she might even be able to pay off all the debts she’d accumulated over the years at the mahjong table.

Looking higher, she saw thin, tightly pressed lips and deep, phoenix-shaped eyes that seemed strangely familiar.

The woman’s aged eyes narrowed, sizing up the man beside Jiang Luoluo in the dim light.

Jiang Luoluo looked at the woman before him, feeling somewhat flustered.

He leaned into Mu Jianian’s embrace and softly called out, “Husband.”

Mu Jianian wrapped his arm around the person in his arms, his cold gaze fixed on the woman before him.

“When did he come looking for you?”

As the words fell, the woman’s supposedly subtle appraisal froze.

Her lips trembled as she stammered, “You—you’re—”

Mu Jianian subtly furrowed his brow, repeating, “When did he come looking for you?”

The woman could barely contain her excitement.

This wealthy man was Mu Jianian!

She stared at Mu Jianian, her hands trembling as she fumbled with her phone to show her payment records. Her eyes shone with greed, as if she were gazing at a glittering mountain of gold.

“Oh my! Niannian!”

“Look how well you’re doing, Niannian!”

“Did you go to a big city to work?”

“You’ve made it, Niannian!”

“Of course! You were always such a good student! I knew you’d amount to something!”

“Look at you now! You look just like a big boss on TV!”

The woman grew more agitated as she spoke, her aged eyes gleaming greedily.

“You’ve brought glory to your family, Niannian!”

“Are you living in a mansion now? Driving a luxury car?”

“Why don’t you go home and see your parents, Niannian—”

Mu Jianian lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze icy.

He cut her off. “Answer my questions properly. In return, I’ll pay you a reasonable fee.”

The woman forced a stiff smile.

“It was just over three years ago, around late May or early June—I can’t quite remember. Young Master Jiang came looking for you, asking where you’d gone.”

“You’d already moved out long before that. How would I know where you’d gone?”

“Plus, the debt collectors had just left, and the house was trashed. I was in such a bad mood, I wanted to jump off the roof.”

“Young Master Jiang was kind. Seeing how pitiful I was, and knowing you were missing, he not only paid off my debts but also promised to fulfill your filial duties by sending me a monthly allowance.”

“That stopped just last month.”

Hearing this, Mu Jianian tightened his embrace around Jiang Luoluo.

*Did he really look for me after I left all those years ago?*

*Wasn’t it just a game to him?*

*He clearly got bored, clearly despised my poverty, and clearly insisted on breaking up with me so firmly. Why would he turn around and look for me again?*

A flicker of doubt crossed Mu Jianian’s mind, but his nose couldn’t help but sting with a hint of sourness.

His icy gaze swept over the woman before him, who was spewing nothing but lies.

*What do you mean you paid off my debt out of pity?*

In those days, she had no idea how much she had pretended to be pitiful in front of Jiang Luoluo, shamelessly using his name to swindle the young master of a wealthy family, milking him like a fat sheep for over three years.

Seeing that he remained silent, the woman continued:

“You know, Niannian, your father and mother have no income. Life is very difficult…”

She coughed, “It wasn’t easy for your father and mother to raise you all these years. Now that you’re successful, shouldn’t you show filial piety to your parents?”

“Judging by your clothes and appearance, you must have plenty of money. Surely you wouldn’t begrudge us a few dollars?”

Mu Jianian withdrew his gaze from her, his features sharp and cold.

“You never raised me, so I have no obligation to show you filial piety.”

“Of course, legally, we still have a parent-child relationship. I will arrange for my lawyer to contact you regarding the specific alimony payments, which will be determined according to the law.”

“Beyond that, don’t even think about it.”

“And don’t bother him again.”

Mu Jianian’s gaze, fixed on the woman, was as cold as ice.

“Or I’ll make you spit out every last cent you’ve swallowed.”

After a full day of playing, Jiang Luoluo was completely exhausted.

He was like a toy that had run out of battery.

Mu Jianian had carried him all the way back to the hotel from the car.

He bathed him, dried him, and tucked him into bed, where he fell into a deep sleep.

His tiny body curled up, as if seeking security, and nestled close to him.

His slender fingers still clutched the collar of his pajamas, and he slept peacefully, his breathing soft and shallow.

But Mu Jianian couldn’t sleep at all.

His thick, dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his deep, obsidian eyes were fixed on the person in his arms.

He had always believed he understood Jiang Luoluo.

He clung to the belief that he didn’t love him, a conviction he had held firm for years.

He resented him, hated him.

Love and hate intertwined, threatening to consume him.

Mu Jianian slowly raised his hand and gently brushed his fingers across the soft, tender skin of his cheek.

*Why, Luo Luo?*

*Why did you come looking for me again?*

*Was it out of guilt?*

*Or…*

Mu Jianian swallowed hard, his gaze deepening.

*Or…*

*Or was it because you have just a tiny bit of love for me?*

The person in his arms stirred, his small hand releasing his pajama collar and resting limply on his chest.

Like a murmur from a dream, each call was exceptionally sweet.

“Husband…”

In Mu Jianian’s chest, his heart pounded heavily.

*Thump, thump.*

*Thump, thump.*

*Please, Luo Luo, don’t love me even a little bit.*

Mu Jianian’s throat tightened, making it almost impossible for him to speak.

*If you had ever loved me…*

*After our reunion, my actions…*

*I don’t deserve your love.*

Less than a day after returning from the resort town, Li Chuan received an invitation from Mu Jianian.

“That dog of a man must be up to no good!”

Li Chuan lay on the sofa, taking a vicious bite out of an apple with a loud “crunch.”

“Could he know I went to the resort town to see Luo Luo and is setting me up for a trap?”

Li Chuan scoffed, swiping his finger across the screen a few times to send a message.

[Meet? Fine!]

The apple core went “swish” into the trash can.

Li Chuan flipped off the screen.

He clenched his fists, knuckles cracking.

“Kid! Your dad’s been waiting for you!”

At the French restaurant, Li Chuan felt uneasy as he watched Mu Jianian, who was acting completely out of character—even surprisingly gentle toward him.

“Mu Jianian, just say what you want. Stop trying to scare me!”

Mu Jianian stared at him steadily. “I want to know what happened after I left three years ago.”

At those words, Li Chuan uncrossed his legs, and his expression turned serious.

“Alright. In exchange, you have to answer a question for me.”

Mu Jianian hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Li Chuan continued, “After Jiang Wanwan’s birthday banquet ended, I was worried Uncle Jiang would scold Luo Luo about the video, so I stayed up all night.”

“Around eleven o’clock that night, he called and asked for your contact information. Because Uncle Jiang was monitoring all your contact details, Luo Luo had deleted them.”

“You don’t have many friends, so your contact information was hard to find. I had to pull some strings to check the archives and finally found it. I gave it to Luo Luo, but he couldn’t get through. He couldn’t reach you.”

“Later, when he learned you’d dropped out, he started looking for you. He went to your house but didn’t find you, so he started camping out at your rental apartment.”

“It was scorching hot that day. He was squatting outside your door, drenched in sweat. He’d wipe it away, but more would just pour out. His clothes were completely soaked.”

Li Chuan chuckled wryly. “After I dragged him back to school, he just slumped over his desk, silently crying, his mind completely blank. He looked like he’d lost his soul.”

“I really don’t understand what you see in such a cold-hearted person.”

“He carefully carried home your used books and stationery, storing them in a cabinet. He wiped down your empty desk over and over, arranging the stool neatly, waiting for you to return.”

“After the exam results were released, he searched through the names of the top scorers in every province. When the university started, he went to the country’s top universities, looking for any trace of you…”

For a moment, Mu Jianian’s mind went blank. Then, the image of a young, innocent figure flashed before his eyes.

Desperate and helpless, waiting for someone who would never come back.

Mu Jianian’s knuckles tightened around his teacup, turning an unnatural pale blue. His sharply defined profile was rigid, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed. A heavy weight pressed against his chest, suffocating him.

How could this be?

It shouldn’t be like this…

When he left, shouldn’t Jiang Jia Nian have been free to relax, find new interests, and continue being the pampered young master who loved to play with cats and dogs?

---

💬 “Lady, if you think that watch can pay off your mahjong debts… maybe it’s time you uninstall the app instead of opening your payment app.” 😂

👉 Support this tired translator’s “luxury watch fund” so I don’t end up like Jiang Luoluo’s battery-dead self 🪫💤.